Dan Falloon
Joe Basaraba has seen NHL scouts milling around his games with the Shattuck-St. Mary’s Sabres this past season, but he hasn’t been letting the big-league buzz get to him.
“Some teams have been showing interest. I’ve been getting phone calls and e-mails, stuff like that,” noted Basaraba, who will turn 18 next month.
“You just try to be yourself, have fun with it, enjoy it all, and keep working hard,” he stressed.
“It’s just a good opportunity, it’s motivational,” added Basaraba. “You have guys looking at you.
“You want to do your best and show them what you have.”
Because he was able to make the most of the extra attention, the next big date circled on Basaraba’s calendar is the NHL entry draft slated June 25-26 in Los Angeles.
He is going in as the 54th-ranked North American skater, down from his rating of 39th at the mid-term evaluation, which was released in early January.
“Me and my family will head down to L.A. for the draft, so hopefully things work out for the best, and I can’t wait,” he enthused.
“It’s going to be an exciting time.”
Basaraba is not heading into the draft with hopes of being taken by any particular team, explaining he’s honoured just for the chance to pull a professional sweater over his head at the Staples Center in late June.
“I’m just going in and hopefully [getting] drafted,” he remarked. “I’ve done what I can to show what I can do on the ice, and hopefully I get an opportunity to get drafted and make it to that league someday.”
Basaraba finished tied for seventh on the Sabres, based in Faribault, Mn., with 46 points while his 24 goals ranked fourth on the team.
He explained he tries to play a well-rounded game, using his 6’2”, 190-pound frame to his advantage while also possessing a soft touch around the net.
“I’m a bigger guy. I’m long, lanky,” he noted. “I like to play physical. I’ve got good hands.
“I like to play in all ends of the rink and I’m responsible among my teammates for being a leader,” he added.
“This year, especially, being a senior and everything.”
Basaraba wasn’t the only Sabre vying for the scouts’ attention this season as three of his teammates ended up on NHL Central Scouting’s year-end list.
Two of those—Jason Clark and James Polk—were his linemates at various points over the season. Jimmy Mullin, the Sabres’ leading scorer, also made the list.
Basaraba kicked off the season on a line with Clark (ranked 81st) and J.P. LaFontaine before being shuffled onto a line with Polk (rated 200th) and Daniel Elsner.
Mullin, meanwhile, ended up ranked 165th.
“When you come to Shattuck, you’re always bound to play with some good players on your line,” Basaraba said.
“There are always going to be some strong players, and that’s why we have such strong teams because we can bring such strong players together and really bond together to make one good team,” he reasoned.
“It’s great when you can have guys like that on your line to make plays and give you chances,” he continued.
“It makes the game a lot more fun.”
The Shattuck-St. Mary’s program is a prestigious one. NHL stars Sidney Crosby, Zach Parise, and Jonathan Toews all attended the school.
Basaraba was grateful he had the chance to return to the Sabres for a final season, and savoured having another shot at suiting up with the players who he had built a bond with the year before.
“I don’t know about one particular highlight, but just being in my senior year at Shattuck with all my friends and teammates [was a highlight],” he remarked.
“Just having the opportunity to come back here for one last year is just a highlight.”
The Sabres finished 45-12-4 in a year that they started with seven new players, including two rookies in goal.
“We started off the year with brand-new faces,” Basaraba noted. “We had a good team, made a good run for it.
“It was just a great learning experience.”
The Sabres won their first three games at the USA U-18 Tier I Nationals in Woodbridge, Ill. from April 7-11 before bowing out 4-2 to Kansas-based Russell Stover in the quarter-finals.
The loss was the Sabres’ second-straight defeat in the quarter-finals, and cost the team a shot at a third championship in four years.
“At nationals, I thought we played well, we just came up short,” Basaraba said. “We just couldn’t find a way to put the puck in the net, but we were still playing well.
“But I guess that’s just what happens sometimes. You can’t always win them all.”
Basaraba said regardless of what happens at the NHL entry draft, he’s committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth for the 2010/11 season.
“I’ll try to earn a spot, try to play if things go well there,” he noted.
He acknowledged he’s looking forward to playing for the Bulldogs, given he’s excited to be moving closer to home, but admitted he’s had an eye on the team for years.
“They’re close to town, I’ve always watched them play,” he reasoned. “I like the town, it’s a beautiful town. The people are great.
“It’s just the atmosphere that Duluth brings, being a northern Minnesota team with a great hockey atmosphere,” he added.
“It just helps a player want to strive to get better and try to move onto that next level.”
